Conservation

This is the Epiphyte Headquarters of the World!

“Did you know… Epiphytes are plants that grow on other plants, without harming the host. That is, they are not parasites. There are many groups / families of plants that have at least one member / species as an epiphyte. There are more epiphytes in Monteverde per unit area than any other spot of the world. All epiphytes make for 2/3 of the species of plants in Monteverde. Orchids is one family where most species are epiphytes. Just for Monteverde only, there are more than 400 species of orchids! Another big group on epiphytes is the Bromeliads, most of them are epiphytes but there is one exception, one Bromeliad that grow off the ground, that we use a lot: Pineapple. So the term Epiphyte does not describe a filogenetic group, it describes a plant “life style”. There are other “life styles” in plants, like aquatic, shade tolerant, parasites, etc.